Method for stuffing sausages

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a method and apparatus for stuffing sausages. 
     According to the method a sausage mix is loaded into the cylinder of a stuffing horn which has a piston operating therein with its piston rod extending outside the horn from one end and being provided with means to force the piston through the cylinder whereby the sausage mix is extruded through a nozzle in an end cap closing the other end of the cylinder into a sausage casing along said nozzle. When the casing is filled it is removed from the nozzle and severed into appropriate lengths.

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for stuffing sausages.Sausages have proved to be an extremely popular foodstuff. Manythousands of varieties of sausages are produced and they are consumedthroughout most parts of the world.

Most sausages consumed today are produced commercially in largefactories where the ingredients are stuffed into the casings with theaid of a stuffing horn as is well understood in the art.

In a typical commercial operation the sausage mix is extruded from agrinder into a stuffing horn which has its outlet positioned within asausage casing which is retained on the horn by various means. When thecasing has been filled it is removed from the horn and divided intoappropriate lengths. Casing lengths of 15 to 20 centimeters are quitecommon and in consequence great care has to be exercised in retainingthe casing on the horn until the whole length has been properly filledotherwise voids occur which are unacceptable in a commercially vendedproduct.

Over recent years it has become customary for many users to producetheir own sausages by using small domestic type grinders which have astuffing horn attachment fitted thereto. Many of these grinders aremanually operated and it is extremely difficult for one person tooperate such equipment.

One particular problem is that the grinder has to be continuously fedwith sausage mix, the operating handle of the grinder rotated whilesimultaneously holding the sausage casing on the stuffing horn. Amultiplicity of operations therefore has to be performed simultaneouslyand in consequence it usually requires two persons to satifactorilyproduce sausages of good quality when using this type of equipment.

The use of electrically powered grinders has constituted someimprovement however there still remains the problem of simultaneouslyfeeding the grinder while retaining the sausage casing on the stuffinghorn to provide a good quality sausage.

There has in consequence been a need to develop a method and apparatusfor simply and economically producing sausages of good quality withequipment which is inexpensive and can be operated by unskilled persons.

The invention from one aspect therefore provides a method of stuffing asausage casing which comprises the steps of loading a sausage mix intothe cylinder of a stuffing horn, the cylinder having a piston insertedtherein from one end with its piston rod extending outside the cylinderfrom said one end, the piston rod having actuating means in engagementtherewith to force said piston through said cylinder towards the otherend of said cylinder, said other end being closed by an end cap having anozzle thereon which communicates with the interior of said cylinder,positioning and holding an empty sausage casing on said nozzle andoperating said actuating means to force said piston through saidcylinder whereby the sausage mix is extruded from said nozzle to fillsaid casing, removing the casing from said nozzle and dividing saidfilled casing into lengths to form a sausage.

The invention from another aspect comprises a horn for stuffing sausagesconsisting of a cylinder open at both ends, a piston inserted in one endthereof with its piston rod passing through a first end cap closing saidone end, the piston rod having actuating means connected thereto tocause said piston to move through said cylinder to the other endthereof, a second end cap closing the other end of the cylinder, saidsecond end cap having a nozzle extending therefrom and communicatingwith the interior of said cylinder.

Preferably the piston rod has rack teeth thereon in engagement with anactuating lever fixed to said first end cap, a locking plate in saidfirst end cap and in engagement with said teeth to normally retain thepiston in a selected position but movable on actuation of said leverwhich causes said piston to move through said cylinder to the other endthereof.

The invention from a still further aspect resides in a kit for themanufacture of sausages comprising a horn as hereinbefore set forth andpackages of the following ingredients, namely:

(a) flavouring agents;

(b) seasoning agents;

(c) sausage casing;

the flavouring agents, seasoning agents when blended with a sausage mixand extruded through said horn into a sausage casing producing a voidfree mix which is compatible with the sausage casing.

The invention can be satisfactorily performed using sausage casings ofconventional or synthetic material. It is however preferred to use acasing produced from collagen, collagen is produced from the coriumlayer of beef cattle, the fibres forming the corium layer arere-oriented to produce a film of edible protein which is extruded intotubes of predetermined diameters. Various types of collagen casings areproduced. Those sold under the Trade Marks NATURIN and DEVRO are typicalexamples.

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment and in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a stuffing horn according to oneembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a section on line II--II of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of a sausage casing.

Referring now to the drawings the horn comprises a gun which includes acylinder 1 closed at both ends by removable end caps 2 and 3. The cap 2includes an end 4 and side wall 5. The side wall is threaded internallyand is adapted to engage a corresponding thread on the cylinder 1whereby the cap is removably secured to the cylinder.

The end 4 is provided with a boss 6 having spaced strengthening ribs 7and 8. The boss, cap and strengthening ribs are formed integrally in amoulding operation as is well understood in the art and the boss and capare provided with an axial passage 9 communicating with the interior ofthe cylinder.

Passing through the passage 9 is the piston rod 10. The piston rod isformed of channel section and opposite walls of the channel section areprovided with rack teeth 11. A piston 12 is fixed to the inner end ofthe piston rod and the outer end is provided with a knob 13.

Extending from one side of the boss 6 is a handle 14. The handle has anoperating lever 15 pivotally supported therein by a pivot pin 16 and aspring 17 has its ends 18 and 19 in engagement with the handle and leverrespectively whereby the lever in its normal position is held away fromthe handle.

The inner end of the lever 15 is bent to form a hook end 20 the end ofwhich is in register with and engages the rack teeth 11. A locking plate21 passes through a slot 22 extending through the boss 6. The plate 21is provided with an opening 23 which in one position of the plateregisters with the passage 9 in the boss. The plate 21 is provided witha flange 24 which lies normal to the plane of the plate and extends inthe direction of the cylinder 1 and a spring 25 positioned between theflange and the slot housing normally urges the plate into lockingengagement with the teeth 11. When the lever 15 is depressed the hooksection of the lever in engagement with the teeth 11 forces the pistonrod 10 forward in cylinder 1. This causes the locking plate 21 to rideover the peak of the teeth 11 and lock behind the next succeeding tooth.Repeated manipulation of the lever 15 causes the piston to move forwardin the barrel in increments determined by the pitch of the rack teeth11.

The end cap 3 consists of an internally threaded open ended collar 27provided with an inwardly directed flange 28 adjacent its outer end. Adisc 29 provided with a stepped marginal portion 30 is adapted to seatagainst the flange 28 when the end cap is secured to the cylinder 1 byengagement of the thread on the collar with a corresponding thread onthe cylinder 1.

The disc 29 has a boss 31 having an opening therethrough whichcommunicates with the interior of the cylinder. The boss is providedwith an external thread 32 which engages with a corresponding thread onthe base 33 of a nozzle 34 whereby the nozzle is secured to the disc.

In use the sausage mix is ground to a selected degree of fineness in asuitable grinding machine which does not form part of the invention andadditives such as flavouring agents and seasoning agents are thenincorporated in the mix and blended therewith. The end cap 2 is thenremoved from the cylinder 1 and the mixture is then packed into thecylinder. The cap 2 is then secured to the cylinder with the piston 12seating against the mix.

The sausage casing 35 which is illustrated in FIG. 3 is received fromthe manufacturer in a stacked condition as illustrated. The casing 35 isfitted over the nozzle 34 and retained thereon by finger pressure. Thelever 15 is then manipulated by the user and this causes the piston tomove forward in its cylinder in increments as described thereby forcingthe mix into the casing. As the speed at which the mix is forced intothe casing is governed by the speed of manipulation of the lever 15 itis possible to precisely control the rate of filling of the casing andin this way it is possible to easily and effectively form sausages ofuniform dimensions and which are free from voids.

Suitable flavouring agents are natural powdered hickory smoke, meatenhancers, chicken enhancers and satay flavourings. Suitable flavouringsare herbs, spices, salt, pepper, cereals flours etc.

Other additives such as colouring agents, meat extenders, emulsifiersand the like may be included to suit individual taste.

A kit of components for the manufacture of sausages is convenientlypacked in a container which includes the stuffing horn previouslydescribed and packages containing:

(a) flavouring agents;

(b) seasoning agents; and

(c) sausage casing.

The flavouring and seasoning agents when blended with a sausage mixforming a cohesive extrudable mixture which on extrusion from thestuffing horn into a sausage casing forming a void free mix which iscompatible with the casing.

It will be appreciated that other components may be included in the mixsuch as recipes, meat, chicken and fish extenders, vegetableconcentrates and powders, meat concentrates and powders and any otheradditives which when combined with varied meat, poultry or fish producesa palatable mix which is suitable for manufacture into sausages.

I claim:
 1. A method of stuffing a sausage casing which comprises thesteps of:loading a sausage mix into the cylinder of a stuffing hornhaving at one end thereof a nozzle of sufficient length to accommodate asubstantial length of axially compressed sausage casing, which nozzlecommunicates with the exterior of the cylinder, the stuffing horn beingof a size and weight such that it may readily be held in one hand by aperson using it, the cylinder having piston means therein actuable toforce the sausage mix towards said one cylinder end and out of saidnozzle, the horn having actuating means operable without the use of theother hand of the person for actuating said piston means; positioning anempty, axially compressed sausage casing on said nozzle with the otherhand and holding it by finger pressure; operating said actuating meansto force the sausage mix toward said nozzle, so that it is extruded fromsaid nozzle to fill said casing and remove the casing from the nozzle;and dividing said filled casing into lengths to form a sausage.
 2. Themethod as claimed in claim 1 wherein agents selected from the groupcomprising flavourings, seasoning agents, emulsifiers and meat extendersare included in said sausage mix prior to the loading of said mix intosaid cylinder.
 3. A method of stuffing sausages as claimed in claim 1wherein the sausage casing is a collagen casing.
 4. The method of claim1 performed with the aid of a stuffing horn wherein said piston meanscomprises a piston having a rod extending outside said cylinder from oneend thereof, and actuating means coupled to the piston rod so as toforce said piston means through said cylinder toward said other end uponmanual operation by the one hand of the operator.